Belle Wong: writer, reader, creativity junkie

Tag Archives: quotations

When was the last time you heard a really good insult? I mean, one that wasn’t accompanied by certain select four letter words and other modern expletives?

I recently received an email from an artist friend of mine on classy insults from back in the days when they could craft some really good ones, and had absolutely no compunction about doing so.

This one has probably been making the email rounds, but there are so many good ones in the list, I can’t resist posting them here, especially since a few of them supposedly come from some of our greatest literary heroes. (I say supposedly because I haven’t verified that these quotes actually come from the sources indicated; even if they didn’t, they’re still pretty good examples of the lost art of the insult!)

So here you go: enjoy!

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In an exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor:

She said, “If you were my husband, I’d give you poisoned tea.”

He answered, “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

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A member of Parliament to Prime Minister Disraeli: “Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.”

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.” – Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

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“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” – Billy Wilder

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“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” – Groucho Marx

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Aren’t these such fun? Not that I’m prone to giving insults, of course, but still, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it with a bit of class, right? Have you heard of any other deliciously insulting quotes?

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I'm a writer, avid reader, artist-at-heart & book indexer. I blog about writing, books, art, creativity, spirituality, & the power of the imagination. Oh, and I like to write stuff about life in general, too!

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." - Stephen King

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